1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pill crushers, and, more particularly, to an ergonomic portable pill crusher.
2. Description of the Related Art
Part of the Healthy People 2010 campaign is improved medication safety. Currently many hospitals barcode scan the patient and the medication to correlate the medication with the patient. At that point of care, it is desirable that the medication not be taken out of the patient's room, so as to reduce the chance of error.
One type of medication is a pill, also sometimes referred to as a tablet, which has a solid form. Some people, such as those with swallowing difficulties or a strong gag reflex, find it difficult to swallow a pill. It is known in the art to use pill crushers for crushing the pills, so as to convert the pill medications into powder form, which may be more easily ingested.
A typical pill crusher includes multiple parts, movable or a combination of movable and stationary parts, which interact to crush the pill. One such pill crusher, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,685, has an arm having a pressure exerting head extending over and along an elongate base having a spring loaded rotational anvil, with a pivotal connection between the base and one end of the arm. In use, a rotational movement of the anvil member causes a pill to be both crushed and also simultaneously ground between the pressure and anvil members, which have serrated opposed faces.
It has been found, however, that in a hospital setting, some such pill crushers may be awkward to use. Also, some such pill crushers may require a sizable area on which to operate, which can be a disadvantage in cramped quarters, such as in a hospital room. Also, some such pill crushers are not readily portable due to their overall size and/or weight. As used herein, the term “portable” means an object that has a size and weight that permits the object to be easily and completely inserted into a pocket of a typical medical garment, and without causing any discomfort to the person wearing the garment, such as due to weight, protruding edges, outside dimensions, etc.
Also, some pill crushers used by nurses in hospitals or nursing homes are kept in the medication room because they are too expensive for there to be one in each patient's room. Hence, nurses may crush the pills far away from the patient's bedside, leaving room for error.
What is needed in the art is an ergonomic portable pill crusher that is simple to use and is cost effective.